The invention relates to evaluation of grain-like objects and, more particularly, to a tray for positioning of grain-like objects for digital analysis of same.
There are many types of grain and it is, undoubtedly, the most widely grown agricultural product. Grain is the most important direct staple food for most of mankind. Indirectly, grain is the basis for most animal husbandry. The plentiful availability of grain is the basis for providing most of our meat, poultry and fish at a reasonable cost.
Many measures are made to describe grain quality. High quality grain is fully grown and plump. It contains a full measure of protein. To permit storage for long periods of time, the grain must be sufficiently dry. Further, the grain must be free of numerous defects that can afflict it.
Measurement of grain quality must be done accurately and rapidly. During harvest time, huge quantities of grain are transferred from farmers to grain merchants in a short period of time. The quality of a truck load of grain, and hence the price of the grain, must be measured rapidly. The grain may not meet the quality requirements for human consumption but can be used as animal feed. In this case, the price will be lower. Some defects, such as ergot, which is a poisonous infection, may make the grain entirely useless.
There is therefore a very strong need for rapid and efficient testing methods for grain. Many instruments are available for this purpose. Infrared light instruments are used to obtain moisture and protein measurements. The size of grain kernels is traditionally measured using precise sieves through which the grain is passed thus dividing it into size fractions. The distribution of these size fractions is a measure of grain quality. However, this can be a time consuming process and is not useful for rapid quality measurement.
Despite the foregoing, for many instances, there are not readily available instruments, and quality must be established visually. In such measurement, examiners are trained in recognizing and assessing such defects as black point, smut and ergot. Such examiners are also trained to visually identify grain that has been damaged by too much or not enough rain or extreme temperatures as well. Of course, in this instance, the evaluation of grain quality requires an individual visual inspection, which can not be completed as rapidly as desired, and such methods lead to potentially different evaluation of the same loads of grain based upon subjective determinations made by the examiners.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,180, issued Jul. 9, 2002 to Weiss, discloses a method for digital analysis of objects such as grain, and provides an excellent method for obtaining rapid evaluation of the same. In connection with such digital analysis, however, it is desirable for the grain to be properly positioned relative to the apparatus which obtains the digital image.
It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide a tray for properly positioning objects for such digital analysis.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a tray whereby objects can be positioned to allow digital analysis of all aspects of the object.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method utilizing such a tray to obtain a digital image of such objects.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.